My Take: Thompson is the son of former number one pick Mychel Thompson but he has carved out his own niche as a basketball player. Thompson isn’t the athlete that his father was but he does have a sweet shooting stroke. He doesn’t have the ceiling that teams would like but he doesn’t have a low floor like some younger players.

Thompson will be able to step in immediately and fit into a rotation as a shooter.

So would you use a #11 pick (basically a lottery pick) on a C+ grade player???

My suspicion is that this analysis is a few months old. His status shot up in the past month or so after he worked out for several top-drafting teams, who apparently liked what they saw. He's got some skills for a guard that can't be taught (sweet natural shooter, height, court vision) and deficiencies which can be improved upon with coaching (defense). He'll come off the bench his first year and provide a change of pace in offense from what the Warriors have now. I bet he averages at least 20 minutes a game next year if he stays healthy. The draft pundits are saying that he was a decent pick for Golden State.

My suspicion is that this analysis is a few months old. His status shot up in the past month or so after he worked out for several top-drafting teams, who apparently liked what they saw. He's got some skills for a guard that can't be taught (sweet natural shooter, height, court vision) and deficiencies which can be improved upon with coaching (defense). He'll come off the bench his first year and provide a change of pace in offense from what the Warriors have now. I bet he averages at least 20 minutes a game next year if he stays healthy. The draft pundits are saying that he was a decent pick for Golden State.

His stock went up because other people decided to stay in school. He lacks athletic ability for his position and is listed as a tweener. He better learn to play off ball defense real fast and learn the NBA game is MUCH more physical than the college game. He played PG in college but he is not a true point and GS has Stephen Curry to run the point through. If you see the weaknesses above you will notice he lacks length (tweener) and his court vision (that you said is one of his assets) is actually a weakness. At the PG position he only averaged 2.6 APG. That is not great court vision along with the fact he turns the ball over alot. He projects better as a SG and you are probably right about his minutes but that team really has no depth. Back to the question... Would you use basically a lottery pick on a C+ player?? In any other year he slips down in the draft... That is all my point was. To say he wouldnt is not being honest with your assesment of his game.

regularbob wrote:
His stock went up because other people decided to stay in school. He lacks athletic ability for his position and is listed as a tweener. He better learn to play off ball defense real fast and learn the NBA game is MUCH more physical than the college game. He played PG in college but he is not a true point and GS has Stephen Curry to run the point through. If you see the weaknesses above you will notice he lacks length (tweener) and his court vision (that you said is one of his assets) is actually a weakness. At the PG position he only averaged 2.6 APG. That is not great court vision along with the fact he turns the ball over alot. He projects better as a SG and you are probably right about his minutes but that team really has no depth. Back to the question... Would you use basically a lottery pick on a C+ player?? In any other year he slips down in the draft... That is all my point was. To say he wouldnt is not being honest with your assesment of his game.

In your opinion, where should he have been drafted this year? Admittedly it was not the stongest draft class, but given that, was this a bad pick by the Warriors? I think it worked out well for both the team and Klay. A decent pick.

regularbob wrote:Its because of the lack of talent in THIS DRAFT. You wont find one that projected him as a second rounder for THIS DRAFT. If you add in the talent that could have come out, Sullinger, etc... he falls to a 21-25 first round pick and at that point any one of those guys are interchangable and stock can fall. He had a great junior year only and parlayed that into the pick he was taken at because those other guys stayed in school. AGAIN- ANY OTHER draft he would fall. Take a look at the top 11 picks for the same last 3 years. He doesnt belong there. Everybody that knows basketball knows that this 2011 draft was a horribly weak draft. He made a great decision to leave school this year.

Then why didn't Taylor King get drafted? Or one of the ugly twin brothers that quit the North Carolina Program? Or that quitter Gary Franklin? Any one of these should have jumped into this "weak" draft.

Irregularbob hates on Klay cuz Klay is getting PAID unlike the turds that come out of MD. Last time I saw Taylor King, he had some shelves to stock at the local Walmart.

regularbob wrote:
His stock went up because other people decided to stay in school. He lacks athletic ability for his position and is listed as a tweener. He better learn to play off ball defense real fast and learn the NBA game is MUCH more physical than the college game. He played PG in college but he is not a true point and GS has Stephen Curry to run the point through. If you see the weaknesses above you will notice he lacks length (tweener) and his court vision (that you said is one of his assets) is actually a weakness. At the PG position he only averaged 2.6 APG. That is not great court vision along with the fact he turns the ball over alot. He projects better as a SG and you are probably right about his minutes but that team really has no depth. Back to the question... Would you use basically a lottery pick on a C+ player?? In any other year he slips down in the draft... That is all my point was. To say he wouldnt is not being honest with your assesment of his game.

Your backpedaling skills are terrible. You originally stated he is a 2nd round pick in any other draft now you're trying the old "he slips in this draft". I'm not arguing his going #11, I'm saying he is a first round pick in any of the past 20 NBA drafts. Maybe #29 or 30 but always a 1st rounder.

If I Had a Dollar for Every Time Capitalism was Blamed for Problems Caused by Government I'd Be a Fat Filmmaker with a Baseball Cap

regularbob wrote:I wonder if he went out and rolled himself a fatty last night?....

Sorry, if it offended you, but it is what it is. If you dont want to be called a stoner dont smoke out.....

Bottom line is the kid is going to get paid, but he is overrated. Any other year he falls to the second round at best.....

I just hope he doesnt carry and "bad habits" with him into the league or its going to end up costing him more than a one game suspension.....

The kid can score, period. Overall though he is highly inconsistant and ineffecient. He lacks on the defensive end and overall he is not that athletic for a SG. ....

He doesnt belong there. Everybody that knows basketball knows that this 2011 draft was a horribly weak draft.....

If you see the weaknesses above you will notice he lacks length (tweener) and his court vision (that you said is one of his assets) is actually a weakness. At the PG position he only averaged 2.6 APG. That is not great court vision along with the fact he turns the ball over a lot...

I call it like I see it.

Normally, you'd think it would be good news that a local kid did well in college and was an early first-round draft pick.

But apparently it doesn't mean much this year since this was a weak draft and being considered the 11th best available player in the country conversely is cause for denigrating the kid's character and ability.

Certainly, I was deluded into thinking Thompson must be pretty good if he went #11. Evidently somebody was enthusiastic about him and his name was Jerry West. West, hopelessly old-school, perhaps was duped by the concept of a kid who actually played four years at the same high school and attended only one college. Fortunately for us, we have some astute nonpartisan observers to set us straight, because evidently Thompson is not very athletic and can't play defense or pass and is of questionable character because he got caught holding a marijuana cigarette....... Unlike the rest of us who, like myself, have never carried a marijuana cigarette. (Actually, I think I DUI'd a bunch when I was in high school, but I can't remember since I was so hammered at the time)

It's therefore refreshing to hear, Bob, that you "call it like you see it" because certainly we can all appreciate someone whose comments aren't soiled by petty high school partisanship.

This being the case, I wonder what your take would be on a local high school quarterback who got busted for being drunk and disorderly, breaking in and molesting a coed? How would you feel about a local kid, also a quarterback, who walked out on his pregnant girlfriend and then had his picture in the paper nationwide for staging quasi-orgies in his backyard? How about a local high school employing an assistant football coach who got arrested for using those school contacts to scam investors out of a few million?

Feel free to call it like you see it and - remember - "Sports do not build character, they reveal it." Luca

In your opinion, where should he have been drafted this year? Admittedly it was not the stongest draft class, but given that, was this a bad pick by the Warriors? I think it worked out well for both the team and Klay. A decent pick.

Being drafted 11th is nice, but it doesn't mean you are "considered the 11th best available player in the country". Teams draft for need and there was an almost complete lack of quality shooting guards in this year's draft pool. Circumstances broke just right for the kid and he took advantage, good for him. Let's see what he does with this opportunity.

I'm hoping they are playing around. No matter what anybody's opinion of Mr. Thompson is, he did have the honor of being drafted to the NBA. That means he is getting paid pretty good money. Good Luck to Klay!